SEND local offer - Personal budgets

A personal budget may be from one or a combination of the following funding sources.

A personal Special Education Needs (SEN) budget

A personal SEN budget is the sum of money made available by the Council when it is clear that without this additional top-up funding it would not be possible to meet the individual's learning support needs.  The school or college involved will already have funding for learning support across the school, only pupils or students with more complex learning support needs are likely to need a personal SEN budget.  However, in some circumstances the head teacher or principal and school, college, learning provider may choose to offer some funding towards a personal SEN budget.

A personal social care budget

A personal social care budget is the sum of money made available by the Council if a child or young person (up to 25 years old) is assessed by social care as needing additional and individual support at home and when out and about in the local and wider community.

A personal health budget

A personal health budget refers to the budget made available should a child or young person (up to 25 years old) have complex, long term and or any life-limiting conditions.  A personal Health budget may also be made available to assist with equipment costs or other health services.  A personal health budget will come from the NHS.

The SEND code of practice states:

The scope of that budget will vary depending on the needs of the individual, the eligibility criteria for the different components and the mechanism for delivery.